Golf-club.



No. 684,532. Patented Uct. I5, |90I. H. DE L. VEHSLAG.

GULF CLUB.

\ (Application led Feb. 23, 1901.) (No Model.) v

l maw@ UNiTnn Sterns HENRY DE LONG VEHSLAGE, QF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

G C) L F C L U B.

SPEGIFGATEQN forming P?Y' 0f Ltels Pat-ent No, 684,532, daf-,ed @C1-,Ober 15, 1901 .M-

Application filed February 23, 1901. Serial No. 48,586. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.- l

Beit known lthat LHENRY DE Lone VEHS- LAGE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Irvington, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Golf-Clubs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in golf-clubs, and more particularly tothe heads thereof, having for its object the provision of a golf-club head of simple construction, which may be manufactured at a low cost and yet will -be so constructed as to enable the ball to be driven to the extreme distance possible for the particular' type of club to which it is applied.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a golf-club, known as a driver, having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the head of such driver. Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof with the upper part of the body broken away, and Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Similar characters designate like parts throughout the several igu res of the drawings.

My invention is applicable to any type of golf-club 'with a head capable of composite construction with an inserted striking-block, but is intended primarily for use in connection with drivers and similar clubs having large and heavy heads for driving the ball to a considerable distance. One form of my improved club is herein shown as provided with the usual stick S and a head H, having an upturned socket H for connection with the stick. This head portion will preferably consist of two main parts-a metallic body portion H and a non-metallic inserted striking-block B. rPhe body portion is ordinarily ahollow eastin g, which may be of aluminium, and in this case is constructed with an inner rear wall 3 between the encircling outer side wall 5 and the upper and lower Walls 5 5, respectively, it being here shown as cast integrally with the lower wall of the body. This inner wall furnishes an abutment against which the rear face of the strikingblock will rest and which will therefore form a positive stop for such block. The wall 3 is ATENT FFCE.

preferably so located 'that there will be an air-space 6 between such wall and the outer wall 5. It is immaterial so `far as properly resisting the blow on the face of the strikingblock is concerned whether there is a space at 6 or not., since the wall 3 will have suffi` cient rigidity to support the block and resist the blow, and a considerable saving in metal results from leaving the space. The wall 8, though it may be of any desired conformation, is shown as substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the head and substantially parallel with the striking-face of the block. This position is desirable, since there will be no tendency for the block to be. forced to one side and splintered or ruptured, but will give direct resistance intlelneof`- the stroke. Itis not necessary that the wall 3 should extend for the entire distance between the walls 5 5", as the blow is nearly always struck at or below the center of the strikingface of a block, and hence it is only necessary that it shall extend high enough to resist the blow received at about the usual point of contact. It is also desirable to so form the space in which the striking-block is mounted that the latter shall be confined at the top and bottom and also at the sides and will be more firmly wedged in place at each blow. For this reason there are shown at 7 and 8 inner side walls and at 9 and l0 contact-faces upon the top and bottom outer walls 5 5, forming between thema space or recess of substantially the saine size as the block itself. The inner faces of either or both pairs of walls may converge toward the wall 3, and in this case both pairs are so shown. Hence said v space is adapted to contain a striking-blockr-go inclined at four sides or in the plane of a double wedge. In order to further save metal, a space may be left at l2 between the wall 7 and the wall 5 in substantially the same Way that the space 6 is formed To give the head the Weight which will allow the most effective stroke to be made with it, the block B may be recessed, as by boring holes (here shown as two) into the inner side, and into these recesses is run the proper amount of lead or I other suitable heavy material forming the weights W W1 After the block B has been finished and weighted in the manner just described it is driven into the opening and may then be permanently secured in position by means of screws 15, three of which are shown herein. The striking-block B may be of any suitable material, being most commonly of wood, but the grain or fibers thereof preferably run in the direction in which the block is struck, for the reason that when disposed in this manner a much stronger blow may be given than when the fibers run obliquely to or substantially parallel with the strikingface. When thefibers are perpendicular to such face, there is not the tendency to compression which is present when the fibers are parallel to it, and -hence the block does not give so much, and the blow is delivered with full force with little cushioning effect. This arrangementis particularlyimportantinconneotion with the wedge-shaped recess for the block, since in pressing it into such recess both in manufacture and impact by the ball in use the tendency is to press the fibers together and render the block more dense and in better condition for service, while if the fibers were transverse the pressure would tend to bulge them apart and make the block more elastic and less effective.

It will be seen that a golf-club having a head made in the mannerj ust described,while possessing all the usual advantages of composite construction, may be manufactured at a very low cost on account of the comparatively small amount of metal used for the cast-ing. At the saine time the striking-block is solidly supported Without an air-cushion behind it or without the capability of laterally yielding, so there will be practically no give, enabling the user to impart to the ball the full force of his stroke and to drive farther than with the clubs heretofore used. This has been demonstrated in actual use. The result is further contributed to by the manner of locating the grain of the block and the solidity acquired by its wedging into its seat or recess.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with a rear wall and a striking-block so located as to leave a space between it and the body, the rear face of whichis in contact with said wall.

2. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body With an inner wall situated between the outer walls of the body and a strikingblock, the face opposite to the striking-face being in contact with the inner wail.

3. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with inner walls situated between the outer walls of the bodyanda striking-block, the inner faces of which are in contact with the inner walls, said Walls extending at least as far as the usual line of striking contact of the block.

t. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with inner side and rear walls situated between t-he outer walls of the body and with top and bottom walls, these walls forming a recess and a striking-block seated in the recess with its face opposite the striking-face in contact with the inner rear wall.

5. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with an inner wall situated between the outer walls of the body and extending for a part of the distance between the upper and lower Walls and at least as far as the usual point of striking contact of the head.

(i. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic bod y-provided with a wedge-shaped opening therein having an inner wall situated between the outer walls of the body and a striking-block, the rear face of which is in contact with the inner wall.

7. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with a rear wall and a striking-block, the rear face of which is in contact with said wall, said striking-block being provided with one or more recesses filled with metal.

8. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body with a rear wall and a striking-block, the rear face of which is in contact with said wall and the grain of which is substantially perpendicular to its striking-face.

9. A golf-club head having a hollow metallic body provided with a wedge-shaped opening therein having a rear wall and a strikingblock, the rear face of which is in contact with said wall and the grain of which is substantially perpendicular to its striking-surface.

HENRY DE LONG VEHSLAGE.

Witnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, C. E. Voss. 

